Signature-marking means for paper-folding machines.



C. U. GIIlSON.

SIGNATURE MARKING MEANS F'OR PAPEREOLDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1915.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

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CLAUDE UL erL'soN, or wnLLnSI'Per,- MASSACHUSETTS..

SIGNATURE-MARKING MEANS FOR PAPER-FOLDING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

Application filed February 5, 1915. Serial No. 6,260.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE U. GILSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Wellesley, inthe' county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signature-Marking Means for Paper-Folding Machines, of which the following is a specification. Y

This invention is embodied in ay marking attachment for a fiat Support-on which the backs of, or back edges of, book and ypamphlet signatures delivered by-a folding machine are in sliding contact, the signatures being moved Sidewise on the support. Preferably the back support is one of the inclined' sides or members of an angular trough such as is commonly used with paper folding machines, the other inclined' slde `or member of the troughconstituting an auxiliaryj support and a guide which maintains the signatures with their ends-in alinement while their backs are passing over the back support, the said auxiliary support sustaining a portion of the weight of the signatures. The back support may however be a horizontal table supporting the entire weight, of the signatures, 'suitable guiding means being provided for keeping the ends of the signatures in alinement with each other while their backs or back edges are moving on the support.

In the following description I refer to the signatures bearingv the same printed matter as a set or lot of identical signatures,

and to the serially numbered signatures El: Creu 'which are subsequently collated to'form a publication, as a series of signatures.

This invention is embodied in an attachment for a signature-back-support whereby the back edges of the signatures are marked while they are moving on the Support, `a marker being employed which' is adapted to be located at various predetermined distances from an edge ofthe support and from the'end's of the signatures and form coinciding marks on `the backs of each set or lot of identical signatures accumulated and moved on the support. Vhen the signatures of one set have been marked, the marker is adjusted at a different distance from the ends of the signatures,'so that the signatures of the next set are provided with marks distinguished by'their loc-ation from the marks of the rst set, and so on until .Reach set of identical Signatures has been marked. The marks guide the operator in serially collating the signatures, each member of the series bearing a mark differing in location from the marks on the other members, so that the marks conspicuously indicate the seriality or orderl in which said members should be assembled, all as hereinafter described.. I

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this Specification, Figure 1 represents a transverse Section of the angular trough of-a paper folding machine provided with-an attachment embodying my invention, said attachment'being shown in elevation; Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2+2 of Fig..1,` and a side view of theparts at the right of said lineyFig.- 3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 represents a section on line 1l-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 represents an end view of the attachment separated from the trough.' Fig. 6 represents in perspective parts of a series of four signatures collated byv the marks thereon;

Fig. 7 represents a sectional view illustrating modifications.

The same referencecharacters indicate the same or' similar parts inall the views.

In the drawings, `representing the preferred embodiment of-my-invention, 12 represents the -signature-back-sustaining member of an angular 'trough such 4vas is commonly employed to receive folded signatures from a folding machine, and 13 represents the complemental signature-end-retaining member of the trough, vthe angle or invertedA apex formed by the intersection of said membersbeing shown at 141.

AThe back-Supporting member 12 is preferably inclined,` as shown by Fig. l, so that signatures deposited edgewise thereon will be moved by gravitation until their inner endsI contact with the end-supporting member 13, Said inner ends being therefore automatically rendered flush or brought intov alinement with each other before the backs are marked.

WVith the member 12is associated a marker 16 which is adapted to project slightly above the upper surface of saidmember and contact with and mark the folded inner or back edges of signatures deposited and moved in the trough, the marker being movable toward and from the apex 14 and adapted to be located at various predetermined dis- 1- 3.

tances from said apex, so that'the members of a set of identical signatures moving in fio the trough may be marked at a given distance from their lower ends, and the members of the next set may be marked at a different distance from their lower ends, the marker being re-located after each set is marked. As here shown, the marker 16 is annular and composed of a ring-of rubber the periphery of which projects slightly above the upper surface of the trough member 12, and is in rolling contact with the back edges of the signatures moved along the trough, the said periphery being supplied with ink or coloring matter by an inking roll 17. The annular marker is supported by a ianged Wheel body or hub 16a. I do not limit myself however to a rotary marker, nor to the means hereinafter de scribed for supporting and adjusting or locating the same.

I have here illustrated marker supporting and adjusting or locating means adapted particularly to supportvandadjust a rotary marker, said means including a marker guide 18 and a marker carrier or bearing 19 which is slidable on said guide, and on which the marker 16 is adapted to rotate loosely. I have also illustrated mea-ns for retaining the marker in any one of a plurality of predetermined positions. In view of the necessity of frequently changing the position of the marker, I have so organized said retaining means as to permit a quick release and a quick confinement of the marker, so that the time required to adjust it from one position lto another is reduced to the minimum.

The member 12 is provided with a transverse opening 15 (Fig. 1) extending from a point near the upper edge of said member to a point at or near the apex 14C. The marker guide 18 extends from end to end ofV said opening and somewhat below the same, and is substantially at right angles with the apex of the trough. Said guide is a rod rigidly attached at its ends to supports 20 which are preferably slides movable in fixed guide frames 21 projecting from the under side of the trough member 12. The marker hub 1G;l Vis loosely rotatable on the bearing 19 and confined between collars 19L attached to thebearing. The guide 18 is square in cross section and the central aperture of the bearing 19 is correspondingly formed, as shown by Fig. 4, so that the bearing slides but does not rotate on the guide. The guide 18 and bearing 19 are or may be provided with complemental means for lo eating the marker in any one of a series of predetermined positions at different distances from the apex of the trough. As shown by Fig. 3, the guide has a series of sockets 22 spaced equally apart, and the bearing has a spring-pressed stud 23 adapted to enter either of said sockets. The stud and sockets yieldingly engage the bearing with the guide, indicate by their interengagement the fact that the bearing has been moved to a predetermined point on the guide, and prevent loose or accidental movement of the bearing from said point, the stud yielding when sufficient pressure is exerted on the bea-ring to move it endwise.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the marker is yieldingly supported in its operative position, so that it is adapted to bear yieldingly on the signature backs, the yielding supporting means being preferably organized to permit the marker to be entirely withdrawn from the ope-ning 15, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. 'Io this end the guide supports 20 are formed as slides supported by spring's 28a surrounding rods 24 attached to the slides 20, and movable through the lower ends of the guide frames 21. Said springs bear on the lower ends of the guide frames and on the slides 20 and yieldingly support said slides, thc marker guide, and the marker with the highest part of the periphery of the marker slightly abovethe upper surface of thc trough member 12, and projecting into conlining slots formed by fixed uniformly spaced bars 27 extending across the opening 15. Said bars are preferably integral parts of a plate 27a, which is attached at 28 to fixed frame bars 29, the latter being attached at 31 to the trough member 12. Said bars 29 and transverse bars 32V attached at 32a to the ends thereof constitute a supporting frame which supports the guide frames 21.

The transverse bars 27 constitute marker locating means which may be used either with or independently of the sockets 22 and st-ud 23 above described, the spacing of the bars corresponding to that of the sockets so that the bars constitute stops to prevent lateral movement of the marker on its guide 18 when the marker projects operatively between two of the bars 27. The bars or the slots between them may be serially designated by numerals inscribed on the plate 27, as shown by Fig. 2.

It will now be seen that the marker may be located in either of a series of predetermined positions at-diiferent distances from the apex of the trough'by shifting it from slot to slot, the marker being depressed as shown by dotted lines (Fig. 4C) to withdraw it from a slot, moved laterally to another slot, and released and allowed to spring upwardly into the last mentioned slot.

The marker may be depressed by means provided for that purpose and including levers pivoted at 30iL to the guide frames 21, and connected by links 33 with the slides 20, said levers being connected by a cross bar 30" whereby they are simultaneously depressed.

The inking wheel 17 is journaled in the swinging ends of arms 84 pivoted on a rod 85 which is attached tothe lower ends of downwardly projecting arms 36 attached to the sliding bearing 19. A spring 37 connecting the swinging arms 34 with the bearing arms 36 holds the inking wheel in yielding contact with the marker.

By reference to Fig. 6 it will be .seen that a series of collated signatures 38 will show on their backs a series of marks 39 made by the marker, said marks forming an oblique row across the back of the bunch of collated signatures. The lowest mark is formed on all the members of an identical set of signatures when the marker is at the minimum distance from the apex of the trough. ,The next mark above is formed on all the members of another identical set of .signatures when the marker has been located in its next position farther from the apex, and so on. The operator who collates the signatures is therefore enabled to determine by a glance at the 'marks whether the signatures have been properly collated or not.

It will be understood that the usual or any suitable means will be employed to move the signatures progressively in the trough, and'cause their backs to pass over the marker. v

As already stated, the support for the signature backs may be horizontal instead of being inclined. Fig. 7 shows a horizontal signature-back support or table 12L having at one edge a guide 13a adapted to keep the ends of the signatures in alinement with each other. The plate carrying the spaced bars 27 is designated 271D in this figure, and is hinged to the table at 27 C, so that it may be raised as indicated by dotted lines to release the marker 16; In this modification the marker guide 18 is attached to fixed ears 2Oa substituted for the slides 20, and when the marker is to be adjusted, the plate 27b is raised, the marker is mo-ved laterallv. and the plate .27b is lowered to confine the marker in its adjusted position.

In case the marker is movable towardand from the support as in the first described embodiment of the invention the spaced bars 27 may be integral with the support and formed by cutting slots therein to interrupt its continuity. y

Each embodiment of my invention above described includes a support such as the table 12, 12, for supporting a group of signatures, the backs of which rest on the support, a signature'guide such as the member 13 or 13a engaging one end of the group of signatures andV guiding the group in a predetermined path on said support, a

, marker adapted to mark the backs of' the signatures moving in said path, marker supporting means, such as the marker guide 18 and its supports, a marker carrier, such as the bearing 19, slidably engaged with the guide, said guide andcarrier permitting the adjustment of the marker in a path transverse to the signature guide and to the path of the signatures, and positioning means including a series of stop members mounted on the support and confined against movement in the path of the marker, a complemental stop member movable with the marker, and means for yieldingly holding said complemental stop member in engagement with either of the series of stop members on the support, the arrangement being Such that the marker may be quickly released from confinement, moved to another position, and automatically confinedV in the last position.

The series of stop members confined on the support against movement in the path of the marker may be embodied in the walls of the slots in the plate 27, or inthe sockets 22. They complemental stop member movable with the marker may be embodied in the f hub 16a cooperating with said slot walls, or in the stud 23 cooperating with the socketsV 22 in the bar 18, The means for holding the said complemental stop member in yielding engagement with either of the series of confined lstop members may include the springs 23a supporting the slides 20 and rod 18, or the spring which projects the stud 23.

As implied in the foregoing description and inthe following claims, I am not limited to the specific mechanism of the prev ferredV embodiment of my improvements shown by the drawings except as otherwise required in certain of the lmore limited claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character stated, in combination., a back-supporting member and an end-supporting member collectively forming a two-sided signature guiding support, said back-supporting member being inclined tov cause an endwise movement, by gravitation, of signatures deposited endwise thereon and bring; the inner ends of said signatures against said end-supporting member and thus cause the automatic alinement of the signatures, and a marking member arranged to mark signature backs guided by said support.

. 2. In a device of the character stated, in

combination, a back-supporting member and an end-supporting member collectively l forming a two-sided signature-guiding support, said back-supporting member being inclined to causel an endwise movement, by gravitation, of signatures deposited edgewise thereon and bring the inner ends of said signatures against said end-supporting member andv hus cause the automatic'alinement of thesig'natures, a markingv member arranged to mark signature backsiguided by said support, one'jof the parts called respectively the back-supporting member and 'termined positions at different the marking member being movable relatively to the other, to vary the distance between the marks and the inner ends of the signatures, Vandmeans for retaining said movable member in any one of a plurality of predetermined positions.

3. In a. device of the character stated, in combination, a back-supporting member and an end-supporting member collectively forming a two-sided signature-guiding support, said back-supporting member being inclined to cause an endwise movement, by gravitation, of signatures deposited edgewise thereon and bring the inner ends of said signatures against said end-supporting member and thus cause the automatic alinement of the signatures, a marking member arranged to mark signature backs guided by said support, the marking member being movable relatively to vthe end-supporting member to vary the distance between the marks and the inner ends of the signatures, and means for retaining the marking member in any one of a plurality of predetermined positions.

4. In combination, a signature-back-support, a signature guide adapted to direct a group of signatures in a predetermined path on said support, a marker adapted to mark the backs of signatures moving in said path,

marker-supporting means permitting the adjustment of said marker in a path transverse to the path of the signatures, and positioning means for selectively confining said marker in either of a series of prededistances from said guide, said positioning means including a series of stop members confined against movement in the path of the marker, and a complemental stop member movable with the marker and arranged to coact with a member of said marker-supporting means for yieldingly holding said marker in predetermined positions.

5. In combination, a signature-back-sup- Aport having a series of marker-receiving and confining slots interrupting its continuity, said slots being at different distances from said guide, a marker adapted to enter either of said slots, and markervsupporting means adapted to support the marker in separable engagement with either oi" the slots. Y

6. The combination with a signature-backsupport having a transverse opening, of a marker, markersupporting and guiding means having provisions for yieldingly holding the marker above the upper surface of said suppo-rt and for guiding the marker to different parts of said opening, and spaced bars extending across said opening and forming a series of marker-receiving and confining slots.

7. The combination with a signature-backsupport having a transverse opening, of a marker guide extending lengthwise of said opening, yielding means normally support- `ing the guide in operative relation to said Vingly pressed toward the support, a marker guide secured to said slides and extending.

lengthwise of said opening, a marker supported by and movable upon said guide and normally held yieldingly thereby above the upper surface of said support, and spaced bars extending across said opening and forming a series of marker-receiving and confining slots located at different distances from anedge of the support, the said marker guide and slides being depressible to permit the transference of the marker from slot to slot.

9. The combination with a signature-backsupport having a transverse opening, of fixed guiding frames projecting downwardly from said support at opposite ends of said opening, slides movable in said frames and yieldingly Vpressed toward said support, a marker guide secured to said slides and extending lengthwise of said opening, a marker supported by and movable upon said guide and normally held yieldingly thereby above the upper surface of said support, spaced bars extending across said opening and forming a series of marker-receiving and confining slots located at diiferent distances from an edge of the support, the said marker guide and slides being depressible to permit the transference of the marker from slot to slot, and means for depressing said marker guide and slides.

10. The combination with a signatureback-support having a transverse opening, of fixed guiding frames projecting downwardly from said support at opposite ends of said opening, slides movable in said frames and yieldingly pressed toward said support, a marker guide secured to said slides and extending lengthwise of said opening, a marker supported by and movable upon said guide and normally held yieldingly thereby above the upper surface of said support, spaced bars extending across said opening and forming a series of markerreceiving and confining slots located at different distances from an edge of the support, the said marker guide and slides being depressible to permit the transference of the marker from slot to slot, levers pivoted to said guiding frames, and connected with each other by a cross-bar, and links connecting said levers with the slides, whereby the slides and marker guide may be depressed.

11. The combination with a signatureback-support having a transverse opening, of a marker guide extending lengthwise of said opening, means for supporting said guide, a bearing mounted to slide without rotation on said guide, a marker formed as a wheel loosely rotatable on said bearing, means for locating said bearing and marker on different portions of said guide, and means carried by said bearing for inking the periphery of the marker.

12. The combination with a signatureback-support having a transverse opening, of a marker guide extending lengthwise of said opening, 'means for supporting said guide, a bearing mounted to slide without rotation on said guide, a marker formed as a wheel loosely'rotatable on said bearing, means for locating said bearing and marker on dierent portions of said guide and at different distances from an edge of the support, spaced-apart arms attached to said bearing and projecting downwardly therefrom, a swinging spring-,pressed carrier pivoted to said frame, and an inking wheel journaled on said carrier and pressed thereby against the periphery of the marker.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CLAUDE U. Gncsoiv.v

Witnesses:

RAYNHILD V. STENBERG, ETHEL E. Govn.

copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

